Getting More Done
(Digested from Medical Economics. 4/6/07. "Advice from the Experts")
All anyone needs today is more time! That seems to be the common lament of anyone in any industry, particularly the medical profession. Demands on your time seem overwhelming and there doesn't seem to be much left for family and recreation.
Here are some simple steps to help you more effectively manage your time:
1. Develop a Master Plan. If you haven't delineated long-term professional and life goals, you will be addressing momentary needs, but you are not carving out time for that which gives you the ultimate satisfaction and profitability. Determine a limited number of goals that you really want to achieve. If you don't identify what you want to accomplish, you will never schedule time to do it.
2. Create Lists. Develop a Master List showing long-term, 3 to 10 year goals. Develop a Mid-Term List of goals you want to accomplish within the next 6 months to 3 years. Finally develop a Short Term List for goals you would like to achieve within the upcoming 6 months. Break down all goals into the steps or actions necessary to achieving them.
3. Create a Daily List. Start out each day with a list of your goals and priorities for the day. This will help keep you focused and enable you to seek out and find efficiencies. It's a good idea to make tomorrow's list at the end of today. That way you can hit the ground running in the morning.
4. Limit Your Goals. Too many goals can promulgate the feeling of being overwhelmed. Remember that you can probably do anything you set your mind to doing, you just can't do everything.
5. Develop Work Efficiencies. On a regular basis, review your work processes. Many may be outdated, or you may be doing things the old way in spite of new technology. Analyze all your activities with the mindset of streamlining your efforts or re-engineering the process itself. Remember that you want to be both efficient and effective during the work day.
6. Be Realistic about Time. Most jobs take longer than we think they do. Small activities, which we think only take a couple of minutes, actually take much longer. Keep the time factor in mind when making your lists.
7. It's OK to Say No! Although your entire career is all about helping others, you need to set your personal boundaries. Evaluate requests to determine how they fit into your overall goals for the day and for the future. Sometimes you can finds ways to be of assistance that do not require your time. Be discerning.
8. Delegate. If your medical degree is not required to do the job, delegate it to an appropriate person on your staff. If they are not able to do it right, it may be better to take time to teach them in order to save time in the future. Develop guidelines and operational procedures to ensure that delegated efforts are carried out correctly.
9. Avoid Perfectionism. Mistakes in the medical industry are bad, but perfectionism can be just as bad. The term refers to overemphasis on details that are not that important to the overall effectiveness or success of the goal.
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